Fair Flowers for Valentine's Day: Support Ecuadorian Flower Workers

[The information in this alert comes from the International Labor Rights Fund.]
Posted February 17, 2005

Please Find Below:

• Fighting for Fairer Flowers: Ecuadorian Workers Organizing the Industry
• Action: Write the Ecuadorian Minister of Labor and Human Resources
• Background: the Flower Workers' Growing Struggle
• Common Violations in the Flower Industry
• Fighting for Fairer Flowers*:

On February 9, Ecuadorian flower workers filed the paperwork to establish the Federación de Trabajadores Floricultores 14 de Febrero, which seeks to strengthen and protect the labor rights of flower workers. Currently, only workers at four flower companies have managed to organize, due to intense anti-union repression by employers, and thus only workers at those plantations have the ability to join a union. This Federation would be the first union in Ecuador to represent flower workers from any plantation, giving more workers the opportunity to collectively defend the rights that the labor law supposedly guarantees them. However, the Ministry has repeatedly refused to register this type of union, after consulting with the flower exporters' association, and despite the fact that the workers have fulfilled all of the legal requirements. This time, the flower workers are asking for the support of international organizations and consumers like you, to encourage the Ministry not to unjustly deny their right to freely associate.

*Action*:

Please send letters expressing support for legalization of this federation to the Minister of Labor and Human Resources, with copies to the President of the Constitutional Court. Ask the Ministry to base their decision solely on the legal basis of whether or not the workers have fulfilled all of the legal requirements and presented all of the correct paperwork, not on whether or not the flower companies are in favor of having their workers represented by a union. The workers' legal right to freedom of association must be respected.

Send this sample letter, in Spanish, to the Minister of Labor and the Constitutional Court (contact info below), signed with your name or your organization's name. See below for the English translation.

SAMPLE LETTER

Email: ministro@mintrab.gov.ec

Estimado Sr. Ministro,

Le escribo respetuosamente para dar apoyo a la solicitud presentada esta misma semana a su oficina, para establecer la Federación de Trabajadores Floricultores 14 de Febrero. Me da mucha preocupación que, en el pasado, su ministerio ha consultado con la asociación de exportadores de flores, Expoflores, antes de tomar decisión sobre las solicitudes de los trabajadores floricultores, y que éste ha influenciado su decisión de rechazar la legitimidad de esta federación. Si los trabajadores han cumplido con los requisitos del Código Ecuatoriano del Trabajo, su petición no debe ser negado simplemente porque las empresas de la industria floricultora no simpatizan con los sindicatos.

Me preocupan también las violaciones a los derechos laborales y las amenazas ocupacionales a la salud que ocurren en muchas plantaciones de flores en Ecuador. Las y los trabajadores merecen tener la habilidad de defenderse colectivamente y de promover los derechos que les están garantizados por la ley ecuatoriana.

El Código Ecuatoriano del Trabajo garantiza el derecho a libertad de asociación a las y los trabajadores, y le pido respetar este derecho haciendo una revisión justa a la solicitud de los trabajadores floricultores. Me interesaría saber los resultados de este proceso de revisión del Ministerio. Gracias de antemano por su atención a este asunto importante.

Atentamente,

[your name]

Translation of Letter:

I am writing in support of the application presented to your office this week to establish the Federación de Trabajadores Floricultores 14 de Febrero. I am concerned that in the past, your office has consulted with the flower exporters' association, Expoflores, before making a decision about the flower workers' applications, and that this has led to your decision to refuse to legalize the organization. If the workers comply with the requirements of the Ecuadorian Labor Code, their petition should not be denied simply because the flower companies are not union-friendly.

I am concerned about the labor rights violations and occupational health hazards that occur on many Ecuadorian flower plantations. The workers deserve to have the ability to collectively defend and promote the rights guaranteed them by Ecuadorian law.

The Ecuadorian Labor Code guarantees workers the right to freedom of association, and I urge you to respect this right by giving the flower workers' application a fair review. I look forward to hearing the results of the review process. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

*Background*:

Article 447 of the Ecuadorian Labor Code establishes that "Professional associations or unions have the right to join together to create federations, confederations, or any other type of union group, as well as to join or retire from these groups or from international workers' or employers' organizations." The workers have complied with the requirements established by Article 450 of the Labor Code in their application to the Ministry of Labor for legalization of the flower workers federation.

This is their third attempt to create the union. In 2002, they presented documentation proposing the name Regional Flower Workers' Union (Sindicato Regional de Trabajadores Floricultores). The Ministry of Labor consulted with Expoflores before deciding whether or not to approve the establishment of this new union. Expoflores is the association of Ecuadorian flower producers and exporters, therefore representing the companies' and employers' interests. After consulting with Expoflores, which presumably was not happy with the possibility of the new union being established, the Ministry refused to approve the establishment of the union. The exporters' association should not have the right to deny the workers the freedom to form this type of union. The Ministry should base the decision on whether or not the workers have fulfilled all the legal requirements, presented appropriate statutes, etc, not on whether or not the employers are union-friendly.

In 2003, the workers tried again. They called themselves the Provincial Association of Flower Workers (Asociación Provincial de Trabajadores Floricultores). Again, the Ministry of Labor consulted with Expoflores, and then again refused to approve it. 

On Wed. Feb 9 the unions once again presented their application for legalization of the "Federación de Trabajadores Florícolas 14 de Febrero" (a sector-wide union that can represent all flower workers in Ecuador) to the Minister of Labor and Human Resources in Quito. 

Take this opportunity to support these workers at a crucial point in their struggle! Write a letter to the Ministry of Labor and the Constitutional Court today!

*Common labor rights violations in the cut flower industry*:

1. Discrimination: Employers discriminate against women in hiring because they don't want to pay the legally mandated benefits or give maternity leave. Women who apply for jobs in flower plantations are frequently required to take illegal pregnancy tests.

2. The business owners at flower plantations are hiring fewer and fewer workers directly, and instead hiring temporary workers and/or through subcontractors. Subcontracting and job instability complicate training processes and impede workers' attempts to organize unions. Subcontracted workers do not receive the same benefits as directly hired workers (training, transportation, social security, food, etc). Some plantation owners create "ghost companies" to subcontract their own workers. It is a way to divide workers and prevent them from organizing. If the workers complain about anything, the "ghost company" can be declared bankrupt and be replaced by another "company" with another name and different workers. Among the subcontracted workers there are an increasing number of children. These children are paid less than minimum wage, do not receive uniforms or protective equipment, and are not given access to medical insurance or social security.

3. Unions: Freedom of association is not respected. Of 300 flower companies, only 4 have unions. Workers are afraid to try to organize because their employers threaten to fire them if they do. Blacklisting is a common practice; workers who organize or attempt to do so are put on a list shared with other companies and are not hired again.

4. Workers are exposed to over 100 pesticides, many of which are extremely toxic. Many flower companies do not take occupational health concerns seriously or provide sufficient protective equipment. Workers suffer from a variety of illness as a result of pesticide exposure, including vomiting, digestive and respiratory problems, allergies, and long-term vision problems.